What do my clients say?

Our counselling, coaching and couples therapy clients access our services via a number of routes. These include telephone, video and seeing us face to face in a comfortable home from home environment. Telephone and video has been the primary method during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we have been doing counselling and coaching in this way for several years as many of our clients are not geographically located near to us, some being as far away as the US and Africa. Below are some testimonials to provide a sense of service we offer. We have preserved anonymity, however many clients are willing to provide a personal account and reference upon request. 

 

TH, April 2020

I have had counselling sessions via Zoom and the service has been incredible. I have made many positive life changes already, beyond anything I could have imagined in such a relatively short amount of time. My counsellor has always shown great empathy and professionalism. She was very personable, has always communicated clearly, was a great listener and has shown real understanding. I feel truly grateful to have received the support I did. My counsellor also provided some really useful tools and resources for day to day use which have been invaluable to me.

 

S&D (with 4 children), March 2020

We have received coaching and counselling as a couple at different times over a period of about 2 years. Most recently it has been via zoom and  It was quite obvious to us over that time that this is a special kind of service. We feel we have always been listened to without judgement, as well as receiving practical support which has improved the way we communicate with each other and our children. During the time we’ve used this service we’ve grown closer as a couple and as a family and we both feel much more confident in our ability to parent. The service has helped make our lives happier and for that we will always be grateful.

 

HJ, 2020, March 2020

My counseller was a very warm-hearted person, who helped me to grow and become the stronger and more independent woman that I am today. I felt she had the capacity to see who I really was and has brought out my true self. She has shown me how I can view things differently, especially in the areas of work, and helped me become a lot more self-reliant which led to increasing my confidence in my true ability in the work place. I feel I was listened to with real intent and I know that my counsellor always had my best interests at heart. I've always felt heard and understood and I was also given wise counsel that I remember and often remind myself of, and which has really helped me in my life. 

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TO, March 2020

I have used this service via video and telephone to help me with relationship issues such as developing healthier friendships, dating and healing from past hurt and disappointment. The support I have received has helped me to feel more confident and at peace with myself and make better choices for my happiness in these areas.  I found my counsellor to be a great listener and very empathetic.  Her support has helped me to recover from past mistakes and to learn what really feels like a whole new way of living.

 

A-K M, February 2020

I have used this service from the US via Skype to help me in various aspects of my life, my marriage, my approach to parenting and other relationships. I am so grateful for all the support I have received. I had some real difficulties within my family and my coach helped me work through a lot of confusion and apprehension in dealing with them.  She helped me to feel strong and confident and I handled the entire situation so much more smoothly than if I had tried to figure this out totally by myself. I am convinced that I could not have spoken as clearly, confidently and kindly to work through the issues with my family as I did, without her support. I know that previously I would have felt victimized and angry and instead it turned into was a really empowering experience where I learned that I could be both be firm and kind at the same time. I felt my coach was a warm, caring person, and that I could trust her with any difficult feelings and still feel understood and supported. I feel so lucky to have been able to work with this service  and would recommend it to anyone who wants to overcome difficulties and feel more freedom and joy in their life.

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MF, February 2020

I would highly recommend this service. My counsellor has helped me work through many fears, to feel worthy as a person and to realise my sense of self worth. I have suffered a lot with feeling of inadequacy and low self-worth and confidence all of my life. The empathy, knowledge and guidance of my counseller really helped me to overcome these feelings and this allowed me to be myself and to achieve things I never thought possible. I have had counselling before which wasn’t so beneficial but this service was very different and a joy to work with.

 

RH, February 2020

I have used this service several times for counselling, guidance and support. The topics have ranged from work related stresses, relationship breakdown, financial worries and periods of depression. When I first came across the service I was stuck in a very low place with low self esteem and what felt like some deep emotional wounds. My counsellor patiently accepted me and helped me to work through where I was at and how I could take each next step. The support and help I received was nothing short of life changing. I feel I was shown compassion and understanding and that I was helped to avoid getting tangled in details and to maintain a view of the bigger picture. What I learnt from the counselling was a much deeper understanding of myself and how life works from an emotional perspective and I also gained a lot in practical terms too. I was able to implement the lessons I learnt into life changing choices and it has created a profound sense of inner confidence that I never knew was possible. I will be forever grateful to have had this intervention in my life. 

 

MJ, February 2020

Pretty much from the outset I felt I could trust my coach and that she had my best interests at heart. The relationship continued to grow adding to the level of trust I developed.  The topics I’ve addressed during the coaching included:

• feelings of anger, irritation and frustration 

• managing my expectations of my husband and children 

• feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy

• understanding my husband better and improving relationships with family

• making wiser choices at work, home and organising day to day things with less stress

• increasing my confidence to be me myself in any situation

• letting go of some negative relationships and adjusting others to be better for me

• seeing more options in the challenges that come with parenting and forgiving myself for my mistakes, likewise forgiving my husband for his mistakes too 

• understanding where my and others behaviours come from and how to develop the ones which are effective and to change the ones which aren’t

• taking responsibility for my own happiness in my marriage, parenting, friends, family, work etc 

• letting go of needing to get everything right and be perfect all the time

• developing a better relationship with food and with my body

 

My coach consistently listened to me and offered guidance to help me make happier choices. She showed nothing but kindness and care and I felt safe talking to her about ANY topic, often topics I’d not previously discussed with anyone.  At times she offered observations and opportunities to help take me out of my comfort zone. By doing this was I was able to make some really important changes. I can see looking back that some of my behaviours had had a damaging effect on my marriage, my parenting and my own personal happiness.  Now my marriage is constantly improving and my parenting is becoming more relaxed and intuitive, it all feels much less daunting.  I feel I am able to enjoy the simple things and simple moments in life more and more.  I was a compulsive do-er, friend-collector, diary-filler, people-pleaser, and I’m brave enough now to see that I sometimes manipulated others to do what I wanted or to get them to like me, and I never sat down.  I was inefficient with my time and made many choices based on fear or unquestioned habits.  I’m now VERY intentional about how I spend my time and who I choose to spend it with.  I feel free to be me and I am much more able to accept others as they are.  I feel increasingly happy and peaceful in a way I never dreamt possible. I'll be forever grateful that I found this service and I draw on the coaching and guidance I have been given on a daily basis.

 

PW, online counselling from the US, January 2020

I would like to provide a testimonial based on the coaching and counselling experiences I have received from this service. Over the course of about 12 months I have been supported emotionally as I have been going through some of the most difficult decision making processes of my life. I came across this service after my 15 year marriage split. I feel I was provided with solid and reassuring support by someone who was clearly very compassionate and motivated to want to help others. The counselling was all via Video but I didn’t feel that in any way compromised the work we did or the relationship we built. I felt my counsellor held the space professionally and was ethical in her guidance without overstepping any boundaries. I felt she had an easy and accepting personality genuinely showing her concern, whilst also bringing in humour at times and was able to listen to me on a very deep level.

 

Some topics we covered together included relationship issues, parenting, work issues, confidence/ empowerment , healthy self-esteem and decision making. At the start I felt I was in emotional crisis. I was in the middle of very serious custody issues resulting from the divorce and I feel I was given a gift to get through this to remain sane and even to come out of it stronger than before. I attribute my success to have passed through these experiences to the support I received. Not only during the times I felt despairing but in times of more peaceful moments as well. I felt equally accepted and supported when I was feeling a mess as well as when I was feeling more secure.

 

AD, January 2020 

Throughout my coaching sessions with this service we covered parenting skills, work and confidence issues that I had been experiencing. I feel I have had some big breakthroughs as a result of our sessions together. I was not able to leave my current employment position due to a lack of  confidence in myself and fear of what others thought. As a result of the coaching I felt able to leave my main job and set up a new business. I feel so much better in myself and much happier. I also had some challenges with my parents and in laws taking advantage of my time and home. I was able to put in some very clear boundaries and felt much happier once I did this. My overall personal happiness and confidence has grown since working with this service. My coach had a wonderful ability to help me to feel very secure and cared for. I highly recommend this service. 

 

 PF, January 2020

I have had regular coaching calls with this service over the space of around 2 years. During that time we have discussed many issues including my marriage,  parenting, loss/bereavement, finances, work and personal responsibilities. My coach was an excellent listener and has contributed significantly to my happiness. She was insightful and invariably helped me to see problems from a more constructive perspective enabling me to find more positive choices. In particular she has helped me to improve my relationship with my wife and find to ways to teach my children with kindness and to become more responsible. She has also helped me to take more responsibility for my own choices and to feel more empowered in doing so.

 

HN, December 2018-2019

My wife and and I used with this service for several different topics that we needed help with, also uncovering things which were at the root of other behaviours and issues we were having. Initially I had sought advice with regard to parenting. My daughter was only 7 at the time but I wanted to try and preempt her having issues I had seen so many children and teenagers develop such as anxiety, depression and self harming. My wife and I also wanted help around building a stronger relationship. Even though we felt that we had a very good relationship together we still felt it could be even better. During the counselling I started exploring my childhood which I had thought was pretty good. I started to appreciate that even though I was not from a broken or abusive home I had still developed a lack of confidence/self-belief, always trying to fit in and please people so as to gain their acceptance and get others to like me. The pressure and hard work in trying to keep this way of life was draining and not making me happy. I felt this was having a negative affect on myself and my relationships with people, especially my wife and daughter. The knowledge I gained about myself through the counselling has meant my relationship with my wife is far far better than it was. I am now not afraid to be who I am or express myself. If my wife and I have issues or concerns we are now able to sit down and talk about things rather than me just withdrawing and sulking so as to avoid conflict. Our relationship feels much healthier.

 

A really big change I have seen from the counselling is with our daughter (now aged 9) which is incredible. I have learnt to communicate and respond to her in a different way. I now help her to learn from natural consequences good or bad, rather than via punishment. We still can’t believe the change in her. Her confidence levels are now like she is a different girl. By way of example, today she had a school class presentation to do in front of the whole school and parents. 12 months ago my wife and I would have had to sit at the back hiding so she couldn’t see us or she would just burst into tears, and would nearly always just be in tears anyway with fear and worry, worrying for days before about it. Today we sat at the front and she was just beaming from ear to ear when she was doing it, and she was looking forward to it for days. She says she is still a bit nervous, but has more excitement about it rather than fear, and is also more accepting of the nerves which are just natural, instead of being worried about the fear! Without the help we received through the counselling our lives would have just stayed on the same path, probably getting more and more frustrated with the things that were eating us up inside. We would also not have been able to change the behaviours which were damaging our relationship, and which were also damaging our daughter because of what she was learning from us.

Now we see a really bright future for ourselves, our relationship, our daughter and our happiness. I highly recommend the support offered by this service to anyone.